Named in honor of the President of the United States James Monroe, Monroe Township, situated on 42.232 square miles in southern Middlesex County, is part of the outer-ring suburbs of the New York Metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 39,132.
Clearbrook Park (with a 2010 population of 2,667), Concordia (3,092 in 2010), Rossmoor (2,666 as of 2010), and Whittingham (2,476 in 2010) are unincorporated communities and census-designated places (CDPs) located within Monroe Township. Monroe Township also completely wraps around Jamesburg.
With the advent of Rossmoor, the town’s oldest—and most affordable—55-plus community, Monroe became enticing for enpty nesters, and many 55-plus communities followed. These days Monroe has more active-adult developments than any municipality in the state, comprising 50 percent of the local housing stock. As a result, almost half the population is 55-plus.
Many of the Jersey towns with a significant number of 55-plus communities—such as Manchester, Stafford and Little Egg Harbor—are located farther south, in Ocean County. Monroe has the advantage of being closer to the population centers of Northern and Central New Jersey and New York City. That makes it a good choice for empty nesters eager to downsize, but not ready to retire.
Although senior living identifies the town, many families with school-age children are moving in for the combination of good schools, low taxes, minimal crime and reasonable home prices.
The Monroe Township School District serves public school students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. As of the 2013-14 school year, the district's seven schools had an enrollment of 5,831 students and 444.6 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 13.12:1
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